Machinery table

ABSTRACT

A machinery table having a rail running around it, carriages constrained to travel along the rail, the carriages being adapted to carry parts of incandescant lamps in various stages of manufacture between different processing stations. The carriages abut one another along the rail by means of projections on the carriages. The length of the rail is adjustable and sprung to a position in which its length is shortest so as to ensure that the carriages on the rail continuously abut one another.

United States Patent 1 Briickner 1 Oct. 23, 1973 MACHINERY TABLE [76] Inventor: Rudolf Briickner, Friedrich-Ruckert Str. 60, Coburg, Germany [22] Filed: June 21, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 155,166

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data June 27, 1970 Germany P 20 31 851.8

[52] 0.8. CI. ....I.".'T.I'.Tfl'." L:IITTYTITHS/lfll [51] Int. Cl. B65g 17/00 [58] Field of Search 198/1, 129, 177; 269/56; 104/25, 165

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,424,055 7/1947 Rousseau 198/1 6/1930 Shallock FORElGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,161,211 1/1964 Germany 198/1 Primary Examiner-Edward A. Sroka AttorneyRichards & Geier [57] ABSTRACT A machinery table having a rail running around it, earriages constrained to travel along the rail, the carriages being adapted to carry parts of incandescant lamps in various stages of manufacture between different processing stations. The carriages abut one another along the rail by means of projections on the carriages. The length of the rail is adjustable and sprung to a position in which its length is shortest so as to ensure that the carriages on the rail continuously abut one another.

3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PAIENIED um 23 ms SHEET 10F 2 BY: A;

flTToRNE PAIENTEDHU 23 1915 SHEET E OF 2 INVENTORI F BR uuH E/e BY: %Cc -0 b J Chg MACHINERY TABLE The invention relates to machinery tables.

In one known form of table, carriages are guided on a track forming a closed cycle, and are driven for example by an intermittent-advance drive, and on which carriages, workpieces, such as incandescent lamps or parts thereof, may be delivered to various processing or assembly stations.

It is desirable to provide a machinery table such that the advance of the carriages, be in intermittent or continuous, proceeds without vibrations or shocks and with very accurate spacing. The requirement foraccurate spacing includes the requirement for compensating for thermal expansion without change in the spacing. It is precisely this compensation which is necessary in machinery tables for the production of incandescent lamps or parts thereof which are partly produced under considerable thermal influences.

According to the present invention there is provided a machinery table comprising a rail extending around a closed path, a plurality of carriages constrained to travel along said rail, the carriages abutting one another, and extending around the whole rail, the length of the rail being adjustable so as to ensure that the carriages on the rail continuously abut one another.

Preferably, biasing pressure ensures that adjacent carriages are at all times urged towards one another, such that there is no gap between the individual carriages and that consequently a motion of the advancing drive is transmitted to all the carriages at constant magnitude. It is possible in this way to achieve surprising accuracy even on large Workbenches having a multitude of carriages.

The carriages may be provided with at least one laterally or upwardly projecting protuberance for the engagement of the advancing drive. The protuberances are in the form of a chain pin and the driven element of the intermittent-advance mechanism may be constructed in the form of a sprocket having recesses which receive the protuberances. This means of driving the carriages causes little vibration. The path of movement of the carriages may then include two straight portions joined by two semi-circular portions, the latter extending around the sprocket wheels.

The protuberances of the individual carriages are preferably at a constant spacing. from one another, which spacing corresponds'to the distribution of recesses on the driven element of the advancing mechanism. In order to ensure that the driven element of the advancing mechanism acts over as large a distance as possible on the protuberances with which the driven element is in engagement, it is further proposed for the protuberances to be provided on the inward side of the path of movement of the carriages and for the driven element of the advancing mechanism to be a disc disposed in the region of curves of thev path on the periphery of which disc the recesses for receiving the protuberances are mounted at an arc radius corresponding to the mean radius of curvature of the path. This too favours a uniformly vibration-free operation of the machinery table.

Advantageously, each carriage has two protuberances, which are preferably cylindrical. The circumference of the protuberances project beyond a respective face of a carriage and act as buffers, such that the protuberances of adjoining carriages abut and, in particular, that each recess in the periphery of the intermittent-advance disc receives two abutting protuberances of two adjacent carriages. In order to ensure a particularly vibration-free rolling off of the protuberances in the recesses of the sprockets the protuberances may be in the form of rollers the rotation axes of which rollers extend parallel to the axis of rotation of the sprockets. The rollers then roll and are driven in the recesses of the sprocket wheels.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, the following description is given, merely by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a machinery table according to the invention in plan view;

FIG. 2 shows a section along line IIII of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 shows, on a reduced scale, a diagrammatic plan view in the direction of arrow III of the machinery table of FIG. 2, for the purpose of diagrammatically illustrating the stage of the part of movement of the carriages.

The machinery table, generally designated by the numeral 1, contains a closed path of movement or guide track 2. The guide track consists of grooves 3, 4 formed in the top and bottom of an outer rail 5 integral with the table 1. The grooves 3, 4 are arranged one directly above the other. Carriages 6, which convey workpieces to the various processing and assembly stations, run on their rollers 7, 8 in the rails 3, 4. To ensure accurately horizontal guiding of the carriages 6 the peripheral surface 9 of the rail 5 of the machinery table 1 is provided with a further horizontal groove 10 wherein guidance rollers 11 on the carriages 6 are guided. For each carriage 6 two rollers 7 and 8 respectively and two rollers 11 are provided, in juxtaposition. A precise and almost play-free guiding of the carriages 6 around the periphery of the rail 5 of the machinery table 1 is thus ensured.

The guide track 2 formed by the grooves 3, 4 and groove 10 respectively is divided into two track sections 12, 13. The track section 13 is mounted in a guideway 15 soas to be displaceable relative to the section' 12, in the direction 14 as shown in FIG. 3. The track section 13 is biased by a spring 16 which spring urges the section 13 of the guide track 2, or the portion of the machinery table 1 designated by the numeral 17', in the direction of the arrow 18 as shown in FIG. 2.

The carriages 6 are each provided with two upwardly and outwardly projecting protuberances 19. The protuberances are circular and their circumferences project, in the manner of buffers, beyond the respective end faces 20 of a carriage 6, such that the protuberances 19 of adjoining carriages abut. The protuberances 19 are formed as rollers the axes of rotation 21 whereof extend substantially vertically, that is perpendicular to the plane of the machinery table 1.

A drive motor 22 for the advancing drive is in driving connection, as by axially displaceable couplings, with two intermittent-advance discs 23 which are constructed in the form of a sprocket. The advancing discs 23 have peripheral recesses 24, each recess serving to receive two abutting protuberances l9-of the two carriages 6. The separation of adjacent recesses 24 on the periphery of the intermittent-advance discs 23 is a constant one. The likewise constant average spacing 25 between respective pairs of abutting protuberances 19 corresponds to this separation of recesses. The average distance 25 of all carriages is also constant. The radius 26 of the arc of the advancing disc 23 measured to the path of the centres of the circular protuberances on the disc, corresponds to the distance 27 between the axes 21 of the protuberances 19, which axes extend vertically of the plane of the machinery table 1, and the axis of rotation 28 of the intermittent-advance discs 23, or the central line 29 of the machinery table 1. The axis of rotation of the advancing disc 23 thus lies in the median longitudinal vertical plane 29 of the machinery table 1.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, two advancing discs 23 are provided in the respective curved regions of the guide track 2, in the manner of two sprockets. The advancing discs 23 revolve synchronously in identical rotary sense 30.

When the advancing discs 23 are turned the carriages 6 are advanced by the engagement of the recess 24 with the pins 19 on the carriages. As a result of the abutting of protuberances 19 against one another ensured by the compression spring 16 the movement of the carriages which are in the effective thrust area of the advancing disc 23 is transmitted to all the carriages 6 on the machinery table 1. Upon the occurrence of thermal expansion or the like the compression spring 16 yields. In this way, heat will not adversely affect the smooth advancing movements of the carriages, since they will continue to abut each other.

The advance can be intermittent or continuous.

I claim:

1. A machinery table comprising a rail extending around a closed path, a plurality of carriages abutting one another and extending around the circumference of the entire rail,.at least one separate roller carried by each carriage, and driving means engaging consecutively the rollers of each carriage for moving the car-' riages along said rail, wherein the rail consists of two parallel straight portions joined by two semi-circular end portions and further comprising:

a. two sprocket wheels, one arranged concentrically with each of the two semi-circular end portions;

b. cylincrical rollers on the carriages rotatable about axes perpendicular to the direction of motion of the carriages and projecting beyond the ends of the carriages; and engaging with the sprocket wheels; and

c. recesses on the periphery of each sprocket wheel,

each recess being adapted to receive the two abutting rollers of two adjacent carriages.

2. A machinery table comprising a rail extending around a closed path, a plurality of carriages abutting one another and extending around the circumference of the entire rail, two separate rollers carried by each carriage, driving means engaging consecutively the rollers of each carriage for moving the carriages along said rail, said driving means comprising sprocket wheels having peripheral recesses receiving said rollers, the two rollers of each carriage being located at the same distance from each other, said distance corresponding to the spaces between the recesses of said sprocket wheels, wherein said rail comprises two parallel sections and two semi-circular sections joining the parallel sections, said rollers being located adjacent the inner surfaces of said rail, said sprocket wheels being located upon said semi-circular sections and having radii corresponding to those of the semi-circular sections.

3. A table in accordance with claim 2, wherein said rollers are mounted upon end surfaces of said carriages, a roller located upon an end surface of each carriage being in contact with a roller upon an adjacent carriage.

l I I 

1. A machinery table comprising a rail extending around a closed path, a plurality of carriages abutting one another and extending around the circumference of the entire rail, at least one separate roller carried by each carriage, and driving means engaging consecutively the rollers of each carriage for moving the carriages along said rail, wherein the rail consists of two parallel straight portions joined by two semi-circular end portions and further comprising: a. two sprocket wheels, one arranged concentrically with each of the two semi-circular end portions; b. cylincrical rollers on the carriages rotatable about axes perpendicular to the direction of motion of the carriages and projecting beyond the ends of the carriages; and engaging with the sprocket wheels; and c. recesses on the periphery of each sprocket wheel, each recess being adapted to receive the two abutting rollers of two adjacent carriages.
 2. A machinery table comprising a rail extending around a closed path, a plurality of carriages abutting one another and extending around the circumference of the entire rail, two separate rollers carried by each carriage, driving means engaging consecutively the rollers of each carriage for moving the carriages along said rail, said driving means comprising sprocket wheels having peripheral recesses receiving said rollers, the two rollers of each carriage being located at the same distance from each other, said distance corresponding to the spaces between the recesses of said sprocket wheels, wherein said rail comprises two parallel sections and two semi-circular sections joining the parallel sections, said rollers being located adjacent the inner surfaces of said rail, said sprocket wheels being located upon said semi-circular sections and having radii corresponding to those of the semi-circular sections.
 3. A table in accordance with claim 2, wherein said rollers are mounted upon end surfaces of said carriages, a roller located upon an end surface of each carriage being in contact with a roller upon an adjacent carriage. 